Editor's Note: Marco Solorio is a multihyphenate extraordinaire. Since founding One River Media in 1991, he has earned a reputation as a leader in every craft he touches, including photography and cinematography, music composition and audio engineering, editing, finishing, training, and event production, with a client list that reads like a Who's Who of Silicon Valley and beyond: Apple, Dolby, Pixar, Adobe, Google, HP, Cisco, Coca-Cola, Walmart, and almost 200 more.

Marco is also one of the kindest and most generous souls it's been our pleasure to encounter in a business where those traits are all too rare. I, as well as Creative COW's owners Ronald & Kathlyn Lindeboom, have known Marco since well before the founding of the COW, and I'm always delighted to cross his path.

During the NAB Show 2017 it was only virtual, alas, but he and I both flipped our wigs over the announcements around the integration of the Fairlight digital audio workstation (DAW) into Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve for the combined price of only $299. His enthusiastic Instagram posts spread far and wide, and those seeds have born epic fruit in this remarkable overview of the possibilities he sees that a combined Fairlight + Resolve can offer his work.

Resolve has been One River Media's finishing platform of choice since not long after Blackmagic Design acquired it in 2009, and their primary editing platform since 2015. Having been a Pro Tools user for over 20 years, and very frustrated with it for the last several of those, Marco has some strong feelings about all of this. We are delighted to share the first chapter in his findings, originally posted at the One River Media blog. We know you'll enjoy this, and look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below.

~Tim Wilson, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW

With the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas officially over for 2017, there was an abundant of new announcements and products throughout the show’s week-long event. But for me, nothing came close in terms of shear “wow factor” than to that of Blackmagic Design’s showing of DaVinci Resolve 14 with the inclusion of the complete Fairlight DAW.

In about 4-5 month’s time, the Blackmagic/Fairlight engineers and developers integrated the Fairlight DAW right into DaVinci Resolve, complete with hardware interfacing with audio I/O and modular mixing control surface integration.

Despite the fact the team is still hard at work to complete all the planned features, this was an amazing feat to undertake. I honestly don’t know how these people were able to do this in such a short amount of time (I guess they don’t like sleep). The running joke at the show I kept hearing from people was that Blackmagic/Fairlight was able to build this NLE/DAW solution in 6 months, doing more than [insert any other NLE/audio platform] has done in the last 6 years.

I unintentionally spent 95% of a full day 1 at NAB at the Blackmagic booth… this is the reason why.

While at NAB, I had the opportunity to spend an enormous amount of time with the Blackmagic/Fairlight engineers and developers to dig deep with the new advancements as well as play with the Fairlight mixing consoles to really get a feel for how this all works together. In short, it exceeded all my expectations.

The new Fairlight + DaVinci Resolve integration is the most exciting thing I've seen come along in audio as a professional Pro Tools user for 20 years and as an audio engineer for almost 30.

ONCE FRUSTRATED, NOW ELATED
So what’s the big deal? Why the excitement? To answer that, let me briefly explain a little background. I’ve been a Pro Tools user for roughly 20 years now. Over that time, I’ve invested a LOT of money in building and expanding our Pro Tools equipment in our audio control room and recording studio of the years.

Part of that investment includes a 40-channel ProControl mixing console with Edit Pack (surround sound support) that Avid hasn’t supported since Pro Tools 10 (Pro Tools is up to version 12.7 as of this writing). In other words, Avid refuses to allow their older control surfaces to work with Pro Tools 11 or 12 (remember, there is no audio processing in these control surfaces at all) in hopes of forcing their longtime legacy users like me into buying into their new hardware, specifically the high-dollar S3 control surface (singular, non-expandable unit) and S6 modular control surface lineup as the top offerings from Avid.

The S3 and S6 options are ludicrous to me since (A) my old control surface hardware works perfectly for my needs and (B) other companies have long supported their older control surface hardware with modern software (e.g., a 15-year old DaVinci panel can work under today’s Resolve under Linux and the original Fairlight control surfaces from decades ago still work with today’s Fairlight software). I’ve been more than willing to upgrade to Avid’s newer PCIe hardware and I/O hardware, but the buck stops here with the need to replace my entire surround sound mixing console that is otherwise perfectly functional.

Our 40-channel mixing console in our Audio Control Room is perfectly functional and supports 5.1 surround sound mixing… but is no longer supported by AVID and deemed E.O.L. after Pro Tools version 10 (currently at version 12.7).

For the last 2 to 3 years I’ve been at a loss with finding a solution to this problem. My hope was to (A) do away with Pro Tools altogether, (B) use alternative professional DAW software that was fast and high-end, (C) and was completely modular so that I could grow into a larger control surface mixing console as needed.

THE FAIRLIGHT FOUNDATION
But the solution is finally here and it’s DaVinci Resolve’s integration of Fairlight.

At the core, Fairlight is intertwined within DaVinci Resolve. This is a key point. Rather than being a stand-alone application, Fairlight works exactly the same way the NLE portion within Resolve works, in that you can edit, color grade, and mix your audio non-linearly without the need for dealing with cumbersome XML/AAF translation project files between programs and round-tripping.

While I’m building an editorial rough cut of a video, I can also start tweaking the dialog mix, while also building the color grade, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I never have to leave the Resolve ecosphere. This is huge.

Likewise, any audio parameters that are made in either the Edit page or Audio page are completely mirrored in both pages. So for example, lets say I’m in the Edit page working on an audio clip and I adjust the EQ, the compressor, add a VST plugin like RX6 De-noiser, and then adjust the parameters and values for those audio parameters. I can then go into the Audio/Fairlight page and all of those audio plugins I added in the Edit page are now exactly mirrored to their exact values between the Edit and Audio pages.

The biggest difference of course is when you’re in the Fairlight page, you have much more control, features, and visual feedback of your audio edits.

To go a step further (and this blows my freaking mind), Resolve’s new collaboration features with “timeline comparison” is the holy grail of workflow versioning.

In a nutshell, it allows multiple AND singular users to see what changes have been made in the project timeline between users/sequences, whether it’s audio + video + grading, video only, grading only, audio only, or whatever combination.

So between video editing, color grading, and audio mixing, you have a graphically supported breakdown of how the build of the project is coming along. Avid Media Composer + Pro Tools doesn’t do this, Adobe Premiere + Lumetry + Audition doesn’t do this, nor does Apple FCPX + Logic do this. Blackmagic has built a new paradigm in modern post-production workflow in Resolve that others can only look up to at this point. Truly revolutionary.

The collaboration feature in Resolve’s editing timeline is a first for any post-production software suite, offering unparalleled workflow control and efficiency between multiple and singular users alike.

RESOLVE'S MASSIVE IMPROVEMENTS
DaVinci Resolve 14 has countless other new features as well, including major performance gains (much smoother UI interaction and responsiveness with greater support for slower/older computers due in part to fully exploiting CPU+GPU resources and smarter base code, with Blackmagic stating a very convincible “10X” gain), facial recognition based enhancements, noise reduction speed improvements, updated motion tracking (catapulting off their already amazing tracker), and countless other features and enhancement that clearly sets Resolve 14 apart.

But to kick off the new version 14 update, the new $299 price tag for the full Resolve Studio software is another shocker (was $995). The USB dongle is no longer needed but can be used in place of the new serial number registration method.

I’ve never been a fan of “renting” software as a monthly fee, so the flat $299 cost is a HUGE welcome to users and ultimately costs way less than other monthly solutions. In fact, Blackmagic Design still has yet to charge users an upgrade fee for any major software release! From version 9 (when Blackmagic acquired DaVinci) to the new 14, not a penny has been charged for upgrades! Blows my mind.

Oh and not to forget… the free version of Resolve completely includes Fairlight. Yes, a high-end professional DAW for FREE.

The reDAWn of Fairlight
For me, the biggest addition to Resolve 14 is the inclusion of the complete Fairlight DAW solution itself. With decades of audio know-how, Fairlight is an audio post-production giant, to say the least. Although Fairlight has been a competitor to Pro Tools forever, I’m quite certain this will be the first time Pro Tools has serious grounds for concern from a broader market perspective… especially when you consider the fully capable free version of Resolve includes the Fairlight DAW.

Running the beta version of Resolve 14 through its paces, I tested Fairlight’s functionality by using the timeline from our 2-hour feature film, “10/10ths”. Click the image to view it larger.

As for audio plugins, VST is fully supported (as it has been for Resolve prior to version 14), so my favorite audio plugins from giants like Waves, Izotpoe, Sonnox, Lexicon, Brainworx, and others are compatible (I’ve been loving Izotope’s RX series within Resolve 12 and 12.5).

Automation of plugin settings over time is also supported.

You can stack six instances of plugins per track or clip.

Let me be clear; BOTH track-based plugins AND clip-based plugins are fully supported. Not having this in Pro Tools has been one of the pinnacle issues for me for many years. Even with Pro Tools’ latest clip-based plugin support (AKA, “clip effects”) it’s limited to Avid’s basic EQ and compression channel strip plugin (which means none of your favorite plugins can be used) and is only available in the much more costly Pro Tools HD version.

This lack of much requested flexibility in Pro Tools boggles my mind. But we’re talking Fairlight and DaVinci Resolve here, so now you’re free to use plugins across tracks AND clips.

FAIRLIGHT IS HARDWARE TOO
It’s the Fairlight hardware that really has me excited. To start things off, the Fairlight PCIe accelerator card allows for 1000 real-time playback tracks with extremely low latency (sub-millisecond). You can also record 96 tracks while concurrently playing 128 tracks at the same time (bonkers!).

At the core is a Fairlight 1-RU I/O box with programmable interfacing with the Fairlight DAW (assignable digital patch bay within Fairlight itself) and includes a multitude of digital and analog I/O (more on this in a forthcoming article in this series).

Need surround sound support beyond the basic 5.1 or 7.1 matrix? How about Dolby® Atmos™, DTS® MDA, and NHK’s 22.2 for some surround sound love? Fully supported in Fairlight.

The Fairlight hardware sets itself apart from software-only based DAWs by an immeasurable factor.

The Fairlight control surface mixing console is where it’s at though. Because the layout is both horizontally AND vertically modular, you can truly build a mixing console to fit your needs from small to truly massive.

I’ve been begging for such modular integration for the last few years now and it’s finally a reality for us. If you REALLY want to go big, a total of 96 channel strips can be built together (9 Fairlight bays, including the master section), which would roughly be a 15-foot wide mixing desk! Holy moly!!!

These modules are easily connected together by basic Ethernet cables. It really doesn’t get much simpler than that.

This single Fairlight PCIe accelerator card allows the DAW to immediately grow into a 1000-track, low latency powerhouse.

The existing Fairlight mixing console frames support 19” rack mount devices (with backend vertical depth, aka, “buckets”), so if you save room for empty banks, you could then include additional outboard gear within the console as well, like your favorite mic pres, compressors, EQ, mastering tools, etc. I like the idea of adding 500 Series Neve mic pre modules, specifically for tracking.

This 5-bay, 48-strip Fairlight console can be maxed out to a 9-bay, 96-strip console in case this isn't big enough for your needs.

The dedicated LCD screen for each Fairlight 12-strip fader bank can display a multitude of feedback, from a basic overview of the 12 channel strip settings (shown) to highly detailed parameters of a single-selected channel strip focus. Even VST plugins settings can be viewed/controlled here. (More on this in the follow-up article).

INDEPENDENTS VS. FACILITIES
So what does this all mean for boutique studios or “all-in-one” freelancers?

Well quite simply, for users that edit, grade, and mix for their clients, Resolve 14 is the most advanced workflow system there has ever been. Not having to bounce between separate applications using interchange files (XML, AAF, etc.) is a dream come true, especially if you tend to (as I do) like to sculpt the audio mix during the video edit, including audio plugins and such. There is absolutely never a chance of losing interchange data for fade, level, plugin, surround panning, or anything else since everything lives under one efficient ecosystem in Resolve.

Like a kid in a candy store. Playing with the master section of the Fairlight console. The fact I was doing this in DaVinci Resolve was blowing my mind to no end.

What about larger facilities that incorporate a solid foundation in their existing workflows? This scenario becomes a bit more complex and I wager some facilities will be slower to adopt change than others. But the vast majority of full-service post-productions facilities already incorporate DaVinci Resolve as part of their finishing services, so that pipeline is already solid.

While bigger facilities have traditionally used Avid or Premiere as their primary NLE, I’m seeing slow changes in this, as Resolve’s NLE has become more and more robust with each major update. I think the slowest adoption for larger facilities will be on the Fairlight side of things because many of these larger facilities currently using expensive Avid S6 control surfaces with Pro Tools (and for the record, I think the S6 is an absolutely amazing control surface, just ridiculously expensive).

In many cases, these facilities have invested, literally, hundreds of thousands of dollars in hardware, software, integration, and support. But as technology changes, workflow demands increase, and service plans end, there will come a point (maybe months, maybe years from now), when even these large facilities will have to look at what makes most sense for their creative, technical, and deadline needs in their audio post-production workflow.

There will always be die-hard Pro Tools users (I was one of them for about 20 years, up until about a year or so ago), but Fairlight just got a major technology boost that is extremely hard to ignore. And let’s not forget… there’s already a large base of existing die-hard Fairlight users as well (I personally know several of them!) that go decades back, which brings me to my next point:

On the flip side, there will be large post facilities that will integrate the Fairlight/Resolve solution immediately, placing it squarely in their “A” Audio Control Room. The speed gains, the efficiency gains, and the error-free-interchange between editing + grading + mixing is just too paramount to not incorporate, especially when you can literally SEE the changes between users and their timeline updates.

This is a major paradigm shift in the industry that no other post-production “suite” of software has ever been able to pull off, even from the “Three A’s”: Avid, Apple, and Adobe.

The Fairlight’s master section is a thing of beauty. The LCD screen can display a multitude of focused settings, while all of the keyboard buttons below it change, depending on the current screen. Rather than using costly independent OLED buttons, the keyboard (with clear buttons) sits on top of a single LCD screen. BRILLIANT.

The master monitoring section is simple but effective, from mono to surround with multiple monitoring outputs. Additional monitor/talkback buttons are also located in the main section (near the jog shuttle control).

Fairlight's channel strip controls are straightforward and easy to use. Each strip has its own dedicated color LCD screen to show various information and channel name/number.

This is all great. So how much does the Fairlight hardware cost? Unfortunately I don’t have an answer for all of that just yet, since Blackmagic is still ironing out some of those details. Expect an answer in the next couple of months on finalization of hardware pricing (but like all Blackmagic acquisitions, it's highly likely prices will be much lower than previous costs).

As of this writing, Resolve 14 is still in public beta, so keep that in mind when testing. The Resolve/Fairlight development teams are pushing through to add all of the remaining Fairlight technologies into Resolve and like anything software related, but that does take time. At least the public beta gives you insight into how the cohabitation between Resolve and Fairlight works together.

Comparative Pricing At A Glance
(Prices as of this writing in U.S. Dollars)

*Note: Fairlight hardware prices subject to change upon official release (likely to be same or lower).

Overpriced and confusing on the Pro Tools software end? Yeah, I think so too. I’m tired of this old model of pricing and I know many audio people that share the same frustration. And I haven't even got into the numbers of control surface costs (that'll come in a forthcoming article in this series).

On the Resolve/Fairlight end of things, it's extremely straightforward with no annual plans to deal with. And as I've mentioned, there hasn't been an upgrade charge for any new version of Resolve since Blackmagic acquired it in 2009.

So from Resolve Studio version 9 to 14, upgrades and updates have all been 100% FREE. There's no promise this trend will continue with Blackmagic Design, but as it stands, for those of us that have been Resolve Studio users for the last 5 years have had to pay zero dollars on updates. I definitely can't say the same for Pro Tools!

And the crazy part is that Resolve Free is still a very viable and capable solution for using Fairlight strictly as a DAW solution.

CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, I’m joyfully ecstatic about Resolve’s integration of Fairlight and its modular-based hardware integration. It’s going to save so much time in our post-production workflow process, especially when clients ask for that “small” change that affects the edit/grade/mix of the project.

Dealing with “picture-lock” will be a thing of the past in regards to not having the ability to change an edit when we’re at the 5.1 surround mix phase. There’s countless times I want to “fix” a clip in the early edit phase (whether color-based or audio-based) and now I don’t have to wait until the finishing stage to do so; it can all be done while I’m cutting the edit so the client doesn’t have to see/hear some of the blatant “rough stuff” on the first go-around of an edit review.

And after 20 years of professional Pro Tools use, Fairlight in Resolve will now be our primary DAW system. And while the Fairlight integration is still in its infancy during this beta stage, I'm highly optimistic with the promise of a matured system… just look at what has evolved from Resolve 9 to 14 since Blackmagic Design has developed it!

As we continue with the Fairlight integration process in the coming weeks/months (as Blackmagic completes the entirety of Fairlight features and hardware manufacturing), I’ll be posting updates to this process, as well as how we’re using the Fairlight system in our projects.

To say I’m excited about this is a huge understatement! Congratulations to Blackmagic and Fairlight for all the hard work. To me, it definitely looks to be a winner!

The Fairlight control surface is straightforward and easy to use while increasing speed and controllability in the mixing session.

Top Fairlight Highlights:

Fully functional professional DAW for FREE or $299 for Studio version. Available NOW.

Modern singular eco-system containing video editing, color grading, audio recording/mixing in one application; no more round-tripping.

Hi - this seems great and perhaps a bit hypey, and maybe ahead of it's time? I cannot find a shred of information about the Fairlight audio hardware (1RU i/o) that you speak of - can you provide a better link? Are they in production?? What else is needed to get this software talking pro audio to the rest of the studio?

Resolve also does not talk ASIO so what do you recommend one uses to be able to take advantage of more than a stereo default i/o? I am after multi analogue and AES i/o and 5.1 speaker setup to0. I am keen to get over to the Resolve platform but the audio side of things seems blank to me and very under informed..

Great article, good details Marco! To some of the comments here, I too have often been baffled by the likes of Adobe with all their separated packages. Having to switch to two, three or more apps, all sucking up memory and requiring a beefy machine and workstation class graphics cards, to work on the same project never made sense to me. I said a long time ago.. why do they not integrate After Effects into Premiere, and Audition into Premiere. It would make things so so so much faster/easier. I kind of think the next big step for Resolve is to add Fusion to it.. although I am told that most people would never find value in having Fusion integrated due to the nature of how and who uses the tool vs Resolve. Still, the one man show in me would love to just load up the one app and have it all in one place.

I am really hoping the 10x improvement is true. I have a system with 64GB RAM and despite being plenty of memory, I still get long hiccups when scrubbing through timelines.

I also have to confess that years ago I wondered why mixing surround sound audio in real time to a video track was not more common. In particular, I was really curious as to why there wasnt a simple box like window where you could mix surround sound audio in real time simply by dragging a dot around the box and have it record the position movements in real time. When I read that Fairlight offers such a feature.. I about fell over. My dream has been realized, and I cant wait to play with it!

Excellent article. I too was impressed by the thought that has gone into v14. I was also impressed by the speed of development (Avid take note).

I feel for all those who have invested in HD DSP hardware feeling stuck, although one thing to note is that if you have owned it for several years then it has depreciated as an asset in your business so owes you nothing on paper. Of courser that doesn't change that any change requires a significant amount of capital expenditure as well as having to learn a new workflow.

One silver lining is that having tested the round trip between FCPX, R14 and Pro Tools there's a lot of cross-app compatibility there.

Whatever our DAWcentric allegiance or workflow it would be hard to ignore this offering from the Black Magic team.

Thanks for the kudos, Russ. Yeah, BMD's speed in development to port over Fairlight *and* integrate it directly into Resolve blows my mind. It's widely known that development speed has always been one of Avid's biggest weaknesses, as you mention.

I actually wouldn't have minded re-investing in the Avid HDX hardware (even though I was *perfectly fine* with my standard 192 hardware), but it was the EOL of the control surfaces that punched me in the neck, knowing all too well these control surfaces are simply toggle switches, rotary encoders, and faders that send/receive binary data to ProTools. If there was actual audio processing in these control surfaces, then I'd *maybe* understand (ok, not really). But this was just the tip of the iceberg for me!

Definitely a bad habit on my part, but I do see it spelled both ways, even at the very top browser window header of Avid's own product page listing: ProTools | AVID

Yeah, at $299, it's a pretty easy investment for multiple seats and I still feel the free version is quite viable in its own right. Even prior to version 14, using the free version for satellite workstations (clipping, offlining, rough cuts, etc.) is all very doable.

As Creative COW Pedant-in-Chief, catching "Pro Tools" as the correct number of words was my job, and I flubbed it. Easily remedied, although as Marco notes, and as I can also testify as a former Avid employee myself, the spelling is by no means universal even inside the company (as much as I'm certain they wish it were!).

I agree with you 100% that this is a game changer. This reveal of Fairlight for Resolve reminds me of the famous Apple keynote address when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone: "It's a computer. It's a phone. It's a camera. Get it?" It took a minute, but then the crowd went wild.

Well now ... "It's a NLE. It's a DAW. It's a finishing tool." The crowd WILL be going wild soon... I just know it.

Hmmm, the multiple collaboration timelines shouldn't be confused with pancake editing since they show differences in the edit changes, rather than swapping assets from timeline to timeline. But who knows what it'll evolve to! Cheers.

Nice heads up. I have the same problem as you just on a smaller scale, an expanded HD system with PCI hardware. Cost of moving to the "same" system is just silly but at some point being so many versions behind will be an issue. The other very irritating thing is that I could go to Windows and use my hardware. There are actually a bunch of editors I know on Hackintoshes because of the hardware issue. Anyway 20+ years on PT and I would hate to switch but this may be the first really viable option.

Yeah, the struggle is real, Scott. I definitely know your pain! The same 20+ years of pain, LOL! But at least now there is a true, viable option with Resolve/Fairlight. It really solves so many issues we've been having and look forward to the further development we'll be seeing from Blackmagic.

As a long time Fairlight user and Resolve color grader, this is the dream combo. For me the most remarkable thing is that an integrated audio and picture finishing tool means no more running between rooms to tweak and adjust. No more AAF/OMF transfers to audio post. Whilst there are many tricky issues that need to be addressed like reversioning and how that works with mix automation, this integration will potential save me many hours of bouncing between applications.

I'm not sure that most people have realised the significance of this marriage. I've never understood ProTools dominance. It may be popular but it's never been the best tool. To have a fantastic grade tool, a fast developing editor and the best of audio in a single package for such amazing pricing is astounding. I know many of the Fairlight development team and bleeding fingers and bleeding eyeballs were happening over the past months so kudos to them and the Blackmagic team.

Thanks for your perspectives, Michael! I completely agree with you. Although I've been a 20+ year ProTools person, I've always had my beef with certain aspects in it and the slow-to-update mindset Avid seems to have. But the needless EOL of usable control surface hardware finally put me over the edge. I just didn't have a solution at the time (hoping anyone from Presonus, to Mackie, or anyone else would solve it, but nothing ever developed). Not only is the issue now "resolved" (please excuse the pun) but it far exceeds my original hopes of breaking away from the clutches of Avid. No more round-tripping is a dream come true! I fully agree that the significance of this software marriage hasn't completely resonated throughout the industry as a whole just yet. But as it sinks in, the change will be profound. Great times ahead!

It's Day Three of Walter Biscardi's REAL WORLD editing on DaVinci Resolve 12.5 and this is going to be the longest blog yet as I want to show you guys a lot of the "little things" that are making editing in Resolve a pleasure. I know there are a lot of questions still out there whether this is really a professional editor. For me it's the small things that separate the applications making life efficient and fun for the the editor.

Blackmagic Design recently took the wraps off DaVinci Resolve 12.5. Walter Biscardi has been predicting for over a year that Blackmagic would answer many of the questions plaguing editors, and that this would be the year this tool became a full fledged non-linear editing system -- sure enough, it's now a solid editing platform.

Somebody asked Walter Biscardi, "why does editing in Resolve interest you?" Well, he states, it is my color grading tool of choice. It's completely free, and by the way, I'm cutting this project using the free version of Resolve. My Studio version sits on another machine. And having all of that extra real estate on the second monitor is a huge bonus.

Director Ridley Scott's latest epic 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' takes a gritty approach to a biblical story, and colorist Stephen Nakamura helped expand the realistic look by working closely with Scott and DP Dariusz Wolski ASC, and by grading the film in DaVinci Resolve 11 using new tools to help push the 3D grade while preserving highlights.

Colorist Joseph Owens has been in the heart of postproduction for over 30 years, and has used one form or another of DaVinci Resolve for a large part of that. In his look at the latest release of what he calls the gold standard for color correction, he both covers new features, and considers the possibilities that those features offer.

Sometimes it might seem that colorists are all about stylized treatments and extreme color correction, but Aidan Stanford's work on season five of Modern Family is all about maintaining realism and hiding all the tricks in the background. Making the jump from film color timing into digital hasn't been easy, but Aidan has found a way to utilize his film skills in the digital world, turning around episodes in a day using his favorite tools in DaVinci Resolve.

Colorist Rob Pizzey just finished the DI for Tim Burton's latest film, Frankenweenie, a 3D stop-motion animated tale of a boy and his deceased dog, brought back to life with the power of science. Creative COW spoke with Company 3 colorist Rob Pizzey in London about the tricks of grading a B&W movie that's also stop-motion and in 3D.

When directors Josh and Jason Diamond called Juan Salvo to color and finish “Share it Maybe,” the music video spoof of the pop hit “Call Me Maybe,” Juan knew he had the perfect tool for the job. As part of the private beta for Blackmagic Design’s Resolve 9, he was able to turn the Cookie Monster into the perfect shade of blue and tackle other challenges, with the lightning speed turnaround that the viral video required.

Microsoft Windows-based creative shops can now take advantage of DaVinci Resolve 8.2, via a public beta now available for download from Blackmagic Design, and is available both in the full-featured DaVinci Resolve 8.2 and free DaVinci Resolve Lite versions.